• Tennessee coach Josh Heupel breaks ranks with SEC party platform and offers support for 24-team playoff.
• Think a super-sized playoff would give coaches more job security? Nope.
• Nobody cares about bowl games? No, nobody cares about bad playoff games.

Josh Heupel reached across the aisle. The Tennessee coach broke ranks with his party, the SEC, when he came out in support of a 24-team College Football Playoff, a size favored by the Big Ten. The SEC’s official party platform supports a 16-team playoff.

Let’s not kid ourselves, Heupel’s preference for 24 teams has nothing to do with compromise and everything to do with self-preservation.

Heupel is tasked with making the playoff. That would occur more regularly if a super-sized bracket existed. Tennessee would sporadically qualify for a 12- or 16-team playoff. At 24 teams, the Vols might aspire to become playoff fixtures.

Truth be told, Heupel isn’t the only SEC coach who’d go for 24 teams. He’s just one of the few from the SEC who admitted it out loud, on the record, revealing his preference in a recent interview with On3. Georgia’s Kirby Smart also voiced interest in 24 teams in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Inside the SEC, angst is heightened after the conference stiffened its schedule by adding a ninth conference game, without the cushion of a bigger playoff. Plus, a super-sized playoff would mean more playoff revenue. It always comes back to money, doesn’t it?

Coaches always will seek out what’s best for coaches, but this mega-playoff is a honey-trap ready to lure them into a false sense of security. A 24-team playoff would not be the panacea coaches like Heupel and Smart might want to believe it would be.

Let’s dispel with a few myths that prop up support for a 24-team playoff.

Myth 1: The 12-team playoff created a playoff-or-pink-slip environment. A 24-team playoff would offer coaches more job security.

Wrong! Although this past coaching carousel was particularly active, we haven’t reached a playoff-or-buyout landscape.

In the first two years of the 12-team playoff, only one coach whose team finished in the top 25 of the final CFP rankings got fired. That was a unique situation. Michigan fired Sherrone Moore for cause, after his arrest on a felony charge.

‘Our fan bases (expect) to be in the playoffs,’ Smart told the AJC. ‘It’s playoffs or bust.’

Yes, fans want their teams to be in the playoff, but most schools aren’t firing coaches who go 9-3 and head to a bowl game.

Coaches of bad or middling teams get fired. Coaches of top-25 teams don’t.

Texas failed to live up to its preseason No. 1 ranking. It missed the playoff and finished 10-3 after a Citrus Bowl victory. Texas didn’t fire Steve Sarkisian. Nobody sane thought it should. Underwhelming season? Yes. A fireable offense? No.

That doesn’t mean a coach of a top-25 team would never be fired, but it’s an uncommon exception, not the rule.

I highly doubt a super-sized playoff would create additional job security. The opposite is probably true. Go to 24 teams, and college football could speed into an era of playoff-or-ouster, particularly for some SEC and Big Ten programs where stakes are highest. Decrease the playoff’s exclusivity so that 8-4 teams begin qualifying, and I suspect it wouldn’t be long before a playoff-qualifying coach got fired.

We already see this in college basketball. The NCAA Tournament is so big, a bid does not ensure job security. Just last year, Texas fired its basketball coach after a loss in the First Four. Buckle up for similar firings in football if the playoff swells to 24.

Myth 2: Fans will be satisfied with playoff qualification. So, grow the playoff, and you’ll have more happy fan bases.

Yeah, right. Think Alabama or Michigan or even Tennessee will celebrate a first-round loss to Iowa within a 24-team bracket? Nope, that’ll be hot-seat terrain.

I hate to be the one to tell Heupel, but Tennessee fans would be no more enthused about a first-round playoff loss in a 24-team bracket than they were about a season that ended in defeat in the Music City Bowl.

At 24 teams, a first-round playoff exit would become the equivalent to what we now know as an also-ran bowl game finish.

Come to think of it, some coaches would be better off if the playoff got smaller, not bigger.

Consider the plight of Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer. If the playoff had featured eight teams, instead of 12, Alabama would’ve narrowly missed the playoff, bemoaned being snubbed, and perhaps finished with a triumph in a top-tier bowl game, buoying the mood into the offseason.

Instead, the last we saw of DeBoer, he was walking off the field at the Rose Bowl as a 35-point playoff loser to Indiana. But, hey, he made the playoff. Congrats, eh? Not really.

Balloon the playoff to 24 teams, and more teams will finish their season like Alabama did, serving as a whipping post for a superior opponent that’s actually got a shot at the national title.

Myth 3: Nobody cares about bowl games anymore, so doubling the playoff’s size to 24 will be a boon for TV ratings and fan interest.

Lies! Nobody cares about bowl games? No, nobody cares about bad playoff games.

Four of the eight first-round playoff games the past two seasons attracted fewer eyeballs than either the Citrus Bowl or Pop-Tarts Bowl.

You know what drew paltry ratings? James Madison-Oregon, in the flippin’ playoff!

Put Vanderbilt-Virginia in a first-round playoff game within a super-sized bracket, and you’ll get ratings that would fail to match what Texas-Michigan did in the Citrus Bowl.

The upshot about ratings? They depend on matchups, brands, TV networks and time slots. Ratings for some early round games in a 24-team playoff wouldn’t outperform some of the ratings that bowl games generate.

Want evidence? Here you go: Texas’ Citrus Bowl game against Michigan on ABC this past season got a better TV audience than its first-round playoff game against Clemson generated on TNT the year before.

Myth 4: A 24-team playoff will make the postseason easier on coaches.

Nope, it’ll just become more difficult to do what Miami did, going from the 10-seed to the title game.

See, in a 12-team playoff, the 10-seed must win three games to reach the national championship. In a 24-team playoff, a 10-seed would need to win four playoff games just to reach the national title game, amid an agonizingly long journey.

Heupel and Smart won’t be the last coaches to take the bait of the 24-team playoff plan. Too bad it’s fool’s gold.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Teams competing in the World Baseball Classic have a most delicate task: Carve out a legacy in less than two weeks.

Yet despite the microwaved format that’s inverse to how we typically watch the sport and assess greatness, the five championship teams all managed to both showcase their talents, conserve their resources and suppress some pretty elite competition to hoist the trophy at tournament’s end.

The WBC has changed almost as much as the sport itself in two decades. Ranking the best of the best is certainly a dicey proposition, as several mini-eras have emerged in the game during that span.

Still, some squads shined a bit brighter. With that, ranking the five WBC champions as the 2026 edition gets under way March 5:

5. Japan 2006

Record: 5-3, 60-21 run differential

Pool play: 2-1 (Lost to Korea 3-1, beat China 18-2, beat Chinese Taipei 14-3)

Second round: 1-2 (Lost to Korea 2-1, lost to USA 4-3, beat Mexico 6-1, advanced on tiebreaker among USA, Mexico, Japan).

Semifinals: Beat Korea 6-0.

Final: Beat Cuba 10-6

Star power: Daisuke Matsuzaka – one year away from making the leap from Japan to the Boston Red Sox for a total commitment of $103 million – won all three of his starts, giving up three earned runs in 13 innings, a 1.38 mark, striking out 10. Ichiro Suzuki showed he was still in the peak of his MLB career, ripping 12 hits in 33 at-bats and producing a .964 OPS.

And while Koji Uehara was most renowned stateside as a reliever, including with the 2013 champion Red Sox, he was a dominant starter then, having won 20 games as a 24-year-old in 1999. In this WBC, he was unbeaten in three starts with 16 strikeouts to zero walks. Uehara avenged Japan’s two previous losses to Korea, pitching seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in the semifinals.

Championship: Matsuzaka tossed four innings of one-run ball while Suzuki reached base three times and scored three runs to subdue Cuba.

Legacy: They’re the lone WBC champ to suffer three losses, dampening the ledger a bit. Yet it was a harbinger for the next decade in the game, as Matsuzaka, Nori Aoki and Aki Iwamura went on to populate our TVs in subsequent Octobers.

4. Dominican Republic 2013

Record: 8-0, 36-14 run differential

Pool play: 3-0 (Beat Puerto Rico 4-2, beat Spain 6-3, beat Venezuela 9-3)

Second round: 3-0 (Beat Italy 5-4, beat USA 3-1, beat Puerto Rico 2-0)

Semifinals: Beat Netherlands 4-1

Finals: Beat Puerto Rico 3-0.

Star power: Robinson Cano, on a fast track to Cooperstown at the time, banged out 15 hits, two homers and a 1.296 OPS. Nelson Cruz and Jose Reyes contributed 10 and 11 hits, respectively while Hanley Ramirez, 29, and Carlos Santana, 27, each hit a pair of homers. Even 39-year-old Miguel Tejada put up a .316/.350/.368 line.

Hard to believe the lone unbeaten champ in WBC history called upon Sam Deduno as its ace, but he gave up one earned run in 13 innings (0.69 ERA) of three starts. Edinson Volquez also started three games but struggled, striking out nine but walking six. That’s OK – the bullpen was heroic. Fernando Rodney – who saved seven of their eight wins – Pedro Strop, Santiago Casilla, Octavio Dotel and Kelvin Herrera gave up zero runs and 11 hits across 28 innings.

Championship: Deduno pitched five shutout innings against a Puerto Rico lineup with 36-year-old DH Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina in the middle, but precious little else. And, of course, Dotel, Strop and Casilla combined for four innings of one-hit, no-run relief.

Legacy: It’s tough to argue with an unbeaten squad, and the bullpen managed to hold down the fort. But the lack of a true No. 1 – and the tepid opponent they faced in the final – downgrades the Dominicans just a bit here.

3. USA 2017

Record: 6-2, 41-21 run differential

Pool play: 2-1 (Beat Canada 8-0, lost to Dominican Republic 7-5, beat Colombia 3-2)

Second round: 2-1 (Beat Venezuela 4-2, lost to Puerto Rico 6-5, beat Dominican Republic 6-3.

Semifinals: Beat Japan 2-1

Finals: Beat Puerto Rico 8-0

Star power: The home team finally got one, though it was due in large part to high-end grinders rather than superstars. Shortstop Brandon Crawford and Eric Hosmer each had 10 hits and OPSes north of 1.000. Christian Yelich scored a team-high seven runs. And the consensus starting squad had Gold Glovers (Buster Posey, Hosmer, Ian Kinsler, Crawford, Nolan Arenado, Adam Jones, Yelich, Andrew McCutchen) at every position.

Marcus Stroman carried, starting three games, pitching 15 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. Danny Duffy started and won two games, including the must-win quarterfinal against the Dominicans. Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek combined for nine innings of scoreless relief.

Championship: Stroman pitched six innings of one-hit ball, while Kinsler – who also homered – Yelich, Arenado, McCutchen and Giancarlo Stanton each had two-hit games. Puerto Rico started Seth Lugo and had a star-studded lineup compared to its 2013 finalists: Francisco Lindor, a young Carlos Correa, Beltran, Molina and Javy Baez.

Legacy: This team remains the only group that beat all the Latin American powers – Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico – as well as Japan to win it all. And this WBC marked a turning point, with Jones’ home run robbery of Manny Machado in the quarterfinals at Petco Park turning it into a can’t-miss event.

2. Japan 2009

Record: 7-2, 50-16 run differential

Pool play: 2-1 (Lost to Korea 1-0, beat Korea 14-2, beat China 4-0)

Second round: 3-1 (Beat Cuba 6-0, lost to Korea 4-1, beat Cuba 5-0, beat Korea 6-2)

Semifinals: Beat Venezuela 10-2

Finals: Beat Korea 5-3

Star power: Perhaps the apex of Japanese talent, both old and new. Suzuki banged out 12 more hits and scored seven runs, and Aoki also had a dozen hits and drove in seven. Catcher Kenji Johjima never found stardom with the Seattle Mariners but had a 10-for-30 WBC with a home run.

Meanwhile, Matsuzaka was back, as he posted a 2.86 ERA and Japan won all three of his starts, but this time he had company. Yu Darvish, the 22-year-old who was still three years away from debuting with the Texas Rangers, struck out 20 in 13 innings with a 1.000 WHIP. And Hisashi Iwakuma, who won 63 games in six seasons with the Mariners, posted a 1.35 ERA in three starts an a relief appearance.

Final vs. Korea: Iwakuma pitched four-hit ball into the eighth and Suzuki had four hits, including a two-out, two-strike two-run single in the top of the 10^th inning off Chang Hong Lim, giving the WBC a thrilling finish that wouldn’t be matched for 14 years.

Legacy: Let it be known that the Japanese WBC squads of the aughts struggled mightily with Korea. But they were more or less unbeatable otherwise and this team’s pitching depth separates it from almost all the champions.

1. Japan 2023

Record: 7-0, 56-18 run differential

Pool play: 3-0 (Beat Korea 13-4, beat Czechia 10-2, beat Australia 7-1)

Quarterfinals: Beat Italy 9-3

Semifinals: Beat Mexico 6-5

Finals: Beat USA 3-2

Star power: Might be oversimplifying it to say any team with Shohei Ohtani is a default No. 1. Yet he truly never disappoints. Ohtani led Japan with 10 hits and 10 walks, produced a 1.345 OPS and, on the mound, a 1.86 ERA in winning both his starts and adding his epic relief strikeout of Mike Trout to end the championship. Munetaka Murakami – catch him on Chicago’s South Side this spring – produced an .845 OPS while American-born Lars Nootbaar posted a .424 OBP.

Future Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto had his international coming-out party, striking out 12 in 7 1/3 innings. The youngsters – Shota Imanaga, Rōki Sasaki and Yamamoto – ensured that Darvish, now 36, could get hit a little harder and Japan survived it.

Final vs. USA: Ohtani’s strikeout of Trout was the Polaroid moment; home runs from this year’s spring curiosities – Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto of the Toronto Blue Jays – pushed them toward victory. Kyle Schwarber got Team USA within 3-2 with a solo homer, but that only made Ohtani’s heroics all the more necessary.

Legacy: It’s debatable whether this squad is deeper overall than the 2009 edition; it will take a few seasons to gauge Murakami and Okamoto’s MLB production to further contextualize the talent. But any team with Ohtani already has a massive edge – and he proved it emphatically.

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As usual, free agency isn’t exactly what we were expecting months ago, especially for pass-catchers. 

Dallas placed the franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens, which removed the second-team All-Pro from the free-agent market. That leaves the likes of Alec Pierce, Rashid Shaheed, Jauan Jennings, Romeo Doubs, Tyreek Hill and Mike Evans as the top choices at the position. Not exactly game-changing players, who may all come at a high price.

If that’s not your cup of tea, may we recommend a tight end?

Atlanta placed the franchise tag on Kyle Pitts, which takes one of the more exciting free agents off the market. But don’t fret, there are options that bring some youth or production to the table for a future team.

Here are our top 10 free agent tight ends entering the 2026 offseason:

NFL free agent TE rankings

Here’s how the top free agent wideouts rank heading into the 2026 league year, listed with the team they played for in 2025:

1. Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

• 2025 stats: 27 receptions, 307 receiving yards, one touchdown

Likely missed time to open the 2025 season as he recovered from a broken bone in his foot. His return coincided with quarterback Lamar Jackson’s injury. Once he returned, Likely remained less involved in the offense. 

Overall, Baltimore’s passing game funneled through Zay Flowers in 2025. His 86 receptions were by far the most on the team; Mark Andrews finished second on the Ravens with 48. That begs the question of whether Likely’s slight step back in 2025 should be taken seriously or chalked up to missing time at the start of the season and, at times, an anemic passing game. 

In either case, he’s shown flashes in prior years and is entering his age-26 season in 2026 which makes him one of the younger players at the position in free agency. He could have a chance to grow on his second contract.

2. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

• 2025 stats: 33 receptions, 293 receiving yards, four touchdowns

Njoku is one of our top tight ends for a mix of reasons. He’s entering his age-30 season and brings years of experience from his time in Cleveland. The Browns were far from a high-flying offense for the last few years, yet Njoku was still reliable. He likely won’t be back in Cleveland due to how well rookie Harold Fannin Jr. played in 2025.

He’s a few years removed from his best production in 2023 when he made the Pro Bowl and set career-highs in yards (882) and touchdowns (six). He’s not going to be a No. 1 option in the passing game, but is more than capable as a third option for a tight-end-needy team. He missed time in 2025 due to knee injuries which could dampen his market overall.

3. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

• 2025 stats: 76 receptions, 851 receiving yards, five touchdowns

Kelce’s done enough to ensure himself a gold jacket shortly after he calls it a career. He’s one of the most prolific tight ends in NFL history and a defining player on the premier team of the last five years: the Kansas City Chiefs.

But he’s entering his age-37 season. That age was apparent last season when he looked a step slower than his earlier years for a Chiefs offense that needed more explosiveness. Even a down year for the tight end – who operated without star Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball down the stretch – was still better than anyone else on this list.

Kelce has to come with a “buyer beware” label. His reputation could command top money but teams should understand they’re not paying for the Kelce of the turn of the decade when he was a perennial All-Pro. He’s still productive but not capable of being a No. 1 option in the passing game.

4. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

• 2025 stats: 60 receptions, 591 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns

Goedert set a career-high in touchdowns at the perfect time as he hits the free agent market for the first time and could command some of the most money in the group.

If you like Kelce’s experience, Goedert can offer you plenty of that, but six years younger. The Eagles depended on him in the red zone. Only two of his 11 touchdown receptions came from more than 15 yards out.

He’s never been the top receiving option in the Eagles’ offense after taking over for Zach Ertz but he’s a reliable player at the position. His EPA per target in 2025 (0.38) was ninth-best among qualifying tight ends, according to NFL Pro Stats, and is the best of any player on this list. His game should age well for his next team.

5. Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

• 2025 stats: 56 receptions, 560 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Tennessee selected Okonkwo with the No. 143 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He endured Ryan Tannehill’s final years in Tennessee before catching passes from Will Levis. Things didn’t improve much in 2025 even with Cam Ward at quarterback.

Still, Okonkwo has been metronomically consistent over the last three seasons: between 70 and 79 targets, 52 and 56 receptions and a couple of touchdowns have been his production on a yearly basis.

Even if the counting statistics didn’t improve much in 2025, the advanced metrics show a different story. Okonkwo hit 0.12 expected points added (EPA) per target which is a huge jump up from his figure of -0.20 in 2024, per NFL Pro stats. There’s underlying evidence he could take a step with better – or at least more experienced – quarterback play. 

He turns 27 in September with plenty of runway to improve in a different ecosystem. He may be a high-upside player who outperforms his contract if given the right environment to thrive. 

6. Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers

• 2025 stats: 38 receptions, 222 receiving yards, two touchdowns; nine carries, 70 rushing yards, one touchdown

Smith reunited with former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh via trade last year. With the Steelers under a new staff, Smith was cut ahead of free agency.

Smith is entering his 10th year in the NFL, but he hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down. He had to share targets in Pittsburgh with Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington as the Steelers were a tight end-heavy pass-catching room.

He’s just one year removed from setting career-highs in receptions (88), receiving yards (884) and touchdowns (eight). He made the Pro Bowl for that campaign in 2024. Even in a down year in 2025, he still posted a catch rate above 70% for the fourth consecutive year.

With a bigger role in an offense, Smith could produce for a new team. He’s got enough years left in his career to be a useful player for a team looking for a third target in the passing game.

7. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• 2025 stats: 59 receptions, 572 receiving yards, one touchdown

Otton is another younger option who is reaching his second contract. The former fourth-round pick out of Washington turns 27 in April and ended the 2025 season as the second-most productive pass-catcher in the Buccaneers’ offense.

His best season came in 2024, when he essentially became the Buccaneers’ top receiver in the passing game while Evans and Chris Godwin dealt with injuries. How much of that was Liam Coen as an outstanding play-caller or Otton’s talent? That’s up to his future team to decide.

As is the case with Likely and Okonkwo, Otton’s shown enough to be considered worthwhile for a second contract. If he’s your third-best receiving option in the passing game, that’s a good place to be. He’s shown enough to give his future team a lot in the receiving game.

8. Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins

• 2025 stats: 24 receptions, 283 receiving yards, six touchdowns

Waller came back from retirement in 2025 to play nine games for the Miami Dolphins and contributed right away. He scored four touchdowns in his first three games back on the football field after retiring ahead of the 2024 season.

He made a strong impact in his nine games on the field for the Dolphins. His 28.4 receiving EPA is third-best of his career behind his best years with the Raiders in 2019 (41.5) and 2020 (55.9). But on a per-target basis, he had the best year of his career by EPA. That’s more than enough to warrant at least a short-term deal for 2026.

9. Charlie Kolar, Baltimore Ravens

• 2025 stats: 10 receptions, 142 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Kolar is different from others on this list. The Iowa State product is entering his age-27 season as a blocking tight end. A case could be made that he has more to offer as a receiver than what he showed in Baltimore behind Andrews and Likely on the depth chart.

The Buffalo Bills’ offense took a step in 2025 thanks to using a tight end who was a standout blocker but enough of a threat as a receiver to force defenses to match with base personnel. The Los Angeles Rams’ use of 13 personnel – one running back, three tight ends – made them one of the most dangerous offenses in the league for a stretch. Kolar could be a hotter commodity than some realize.

10. Noah Fant, Cincinnati Bengals

• 2025 stats: 34 receptions, 288 receiving yards, three touchdowns

Fant had a disappointing 2025 campaign amid uncertainty at the quarterback position in Cincinnati. Losing Joe Burrow dropped the Bengals’ season hopes and productivity for the pass-catchers went with it. He posted career-lows in EPA per target (-0.32) and total receiving EPA (-13.2).

But it represented a massive step back for a tight end who had solid years leading up to his 2025 campaign. Fant turns 29 this November and could still offer at least solid depth at the position for a team looking to round out its roster. He had good chemistry with Joe Flacco when he was the Bengals’ starter and teams could use those weeks as a way to project how he may fare in 2026.

Pull up a chair, and take a load off, everyone. And soak in the world around you. 

Forget about football or winning and losing, or championships and near-misses. That’s the very last thing Lou Holtz would’ve wanted any celebration of life to include. 

Not that football wasn’t part of Holtz’s story, but that his life story — the last chapter finally played out Wednesday, March 4, after 89 full years — was so much more than that. This is about life and love, and finding the very best of who and what you are. 

If that included the football field, great. But it wasn’t the message Holtz delivered over and over, through decades of coaching football and years on the speaker circuit.  

This is the Gospel of Lou.

“Everybody wants to win. I always used to ask my players, ‘Can you live with losing? Can you live with failure?’ That’s life’s motivator.”

Years ago when I lived in Orlando, I went to see Holtz speak to the Orlando Touchdown Club, a lively group of a couple of hundred that used to meet at the old Citrus Bowl Stadium before it was rehabbed a couple of times. 

I still have the notebook from that day, because by the time Holtz finished speaking, it was clear why he was paid thousands all over the country to spread the gospel. It was more than motivation, Holtz had the rare ability to make you think ― long after hearing him speak.

See Lou Holtz commemorative section

Every speech hit the same talking points, each tweaked to fit the audience, the locale, the moment. 

From the billion dollar Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich, to the folksy yet fiery Little Rock Touchdown Club, to all of those companies and clubs between, Holtz spread the message. He used football analogies to underscore the points he was making. 

It wasn’t about Notre Dame or South Carolina or Arkansas or the New York Jets, it was about being the best you. And how every day is a chance to change. 

“If you’re bored with life, you haven’t set your goals high enough.”

He’s the only coach in NCAA history to lead six schools to bowl games, back when bowl games actually meant something. When he retired from Notre Dame and walked off the field in South Bend for the last time in November of 1996, he did so specifically knowing he was six wins shy of setting the school record for victories.

He could’ve stayed at least another year and set the record (later broken by Brian Kelly), but said there was only one greatest ever coach at Notre Dame. And who was he to win more games than Knute Rockne?

He loved stalking the sidelines, lived for beating USC. He cherished those early Saturday morning prayers at the Grotto, and the Concert on the Steps at Bond Hall — before he and his team even stepped on the grass at Notre Dame Stadium.

He was quick to point out every game was played amid the loving, open arms of Touchdown Jesus, and the 4,000-pound gold statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the tallest building on campus. Or as Holtz called her, the Lady on the Dome. 

These were rare life experiences, and if you aren’t chasing life’s thrills every day, what exactly are you doing?

“Are you committed, or are you the kamikaze pilot who flew 42 missions?”

Holtz was always committed to teaching and preaching, and the facilitator was football. Maybe that’s why he only stayed away from the game for two years after leaving Notre Dame. 

He took a job with the ragtag program at South Carolina, and didn’t win a game in his first season. He then won 17 games over the next two seasons, and finished each with a victory in the Outback Bowl.

But it eventually fell apart over the next three seasons, ending in 2004 with what Holtz routinely described as his biggest professional disappointment: a brawl after the rivalry game with Clemson. 

He never coached again. Football, anyway. 

“No one has ever drowned in sweat.”     

He won 249 games as a college coach, and three lousy games in one season with the NFL. When he quit his job with the Jets with one game remaining in the 1976 season, Holtz declared, “God did not put me on this earth to coach professional football.”

More likely, God put Lou Holtz on the earth to preach.

When he spoke, his unique voice and delivery — and the escalating, booming sound of his voice, despite his lisp, driving home point after point — had every person in every room on the edge of their seat. 

Not unlike the way he motivated his players, typically poor-mouthing them in public while winding them up privately. Before maybe the biggest game of his Notre Dame coaching career, when loaded Miami came to South Bend in 1988 and the pre-game devolved into Catholics vs. Convicts, Holtz got his team zeroed in like only he could. 

He spoke about the Canes and the bombastic bravado of their players and coach Jimmy Johnson, and how this Notre Dame team would take it all from them. Then right on cue — his voice rising to that unique crescendo — he said, “But save Jimmy Johnson’s ass for me!”

The Irish then went out and beat the Canes 31-30. 

“It’s not the load that breaks you, it’s the way you carry it.” 

Holtz often spoke of his time at Arkansas, where his first team in 1977 famously won the Orange Bowl over 18-point favorite Oklahoma — despite Holtz suspending three starters days before the game after an incident at their dorm. 

Holtz used to speak of driving to work in Fayetteville, and how every day he’d cruise by a cemetery. The enormity of the moment was never lost. 

“I thank god I have the opportunity to solve my problems. We tend to look at how bad things are instead of picking up ourselves up and embracing the wonderful opportunities we have.”

And that, everyone, is the Gospel of Lou. 

The Dallas Stars won their ninth and 10th straight games when they beat the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames 6-1 this week, setting a franchise record for most consecutive regular-season wins.

While it’s a streak coach Glen Gulutzan and his team will wear as a badge of honor, only four franchises have not won 10 straight: the 2-year-old Utah Mammoth, 5-year-old Seattle Kraken, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings.

The Stars are reaching new heights, and they’re getting closer to the Colorado Avalanche for the top spot in the NHL standings as we approach Friday’s trade deadline. But they’ll need to keep winning through mid-March to get on this list of the longest winning streaks in NHL history:

Top 5 longest regular-season winning streaks in NHL history

5. Pittsburgh Penguins (15 games, 2012-13)

In 2013, the Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed a perfect March, winning all 15 games. They had a somewhat favorable schedule, playing 10 of 15 at home, including a four-game stint to end the month. 

They allowed just 26 goals, an average of 1.73 per game, and had four team shutouts.

Sidney Crosby had 25 points (six goals, 19 assists), leading the league during the streak, and teammate Chris Kunitz was second, notching 20 points (11 goals, nine assists). 

4. New York Islanders (15 games, 1981-82)

The New York Islanders enjoyed a 15-game winning streak in 1981-82, culminating in their third successive Stanley Cup.

The Islanders went on to win a fourth straight Stanley Cup the next season, marking the last time any franchise won more than two in a row.

They scored 97 goals in 15 games, 24 more than a Montreal Canadiens team that had the second-most during the famous stretch. New York was also the best defensively, conceding 35 goals. 

3. Columbus Blue Jackets (16 games, 2016-17)

The Columbus Blue Jackets won eight straight at home and on the road from Nov. 29, 2016, to Jan. 3, 2017.

Sergei Bobrovsky started in 14 of those 16 games and had a sterling .941 save percentage and 1.64 goals-against average during the streak. Both were league bests, and the Blue Jackets allowed two goals or fewer 13 times.

Unfortunately, all was for nought as the Blue Jackets lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

2. Edmonton Oilers (16 games, 2023-24)

After a woeful 5-12-1 start that cost Jay Woodcroft his job, the Oilers went on arguably the greatest run in NHL history, winning 24 of the following 27 games. 

That included an eight-game and a 16-game winning streak, the latter of which was bettered only by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Oilers were almost impenetrable for large portions of the streak, allowing two goals or fewer in 14 straight. 

They eventually advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in seven games to the Florida Panthers.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (17 games, 1992-93)

The Penguins’ astonishing run set a record that has stood for 33 years.

We all know who spearheaded the unprecedented streak, with Mario Lemieux scoring an outrageous 27 goals and 51 points, an average of three per game.  

He finished the season with 69 goals and the Hart Trophy to boot. Tom Barrasso was between the pipes for 14 of those wins, and backup Ken Wregget took the helm for the other three.

NEW YORK — Chet Holmgren knew that, for the Oklahoma City Thunder, it could’ve gone the other way.

Minutes before he tried to fit his 7-foot-1 frame into a padded folding chair here at Madison Square Garden, his team escaped with a 103-100 win Wednesday, March 4 over the Knicks that didn’t come without drama.

New York whittled an eight-point deficit inside the final three minutes, eventually putting up a pair of clean looks inside the final six seconds with the chance to tie the game. The first shot was long — the second one, short.

And so, the Thunder outlasted New York in another reminder that, for Oklahoma City, things won’t come easy.

“We made enough plays down the stretch on both ends to close it out,” Holmgren told reporters. “They made some plays, too — they just didn’t quite convert. If they do, it’s a different-looking game.”

This Thunder team isn’t nearly as dominant as the one that won the championship last season. For one, Oklahoma City already has more losses (15) than it did last year (14), with 18 games still remaining. For another, points are more difficult to come by; this season’s Thunder ranks seventh in offensive rating, scoring 116.9 points per 100 possessions, after it ranked third in the league (119.2) last year.

Ultimately, it may not matter. The Thunder (49-15) remain the best team in the NBA and are a legitimate threat to become the first team to repeat as NBA champions since the Warriors did so in 2018. This is only magnified when you consider that they’ve done all this despite being saddled with injury issues since training camp.

Jalen Williams, an All-Star last season, has played just 26 games and is currently out with a strained right hamstring. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just returned from a nine-game absence. Center Isaiah Hartenstein has played just 35 games, and he left the Knicks game Wednesday midway through the third quarter with left calf tightness. Alex Caruso (left hip contusion) was also knocked out.

But as they have all season long, role players filled in.

“We’re a pretty deep team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game. “With the injuries we’ve gone through this year, for us to still be in the mix for the top seed in the league and in the West is pretty impressive.”

Against the Knicks, third-year guard Cason Wallace started his 51st game of the season. He was the primary defender on Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson and swiped 4 steals on the night. Veteran forward Kenrich Williams played just 6:13 in the game — all in the fourth quarter — and hit a big 3 early in the period that quieted a New York run.

“It just speaks to the guys that have had to step up, like Isaiah Joe, Cason — the past few weeks have transformed their game and have shown what they can be as basketball players in big roles,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Guys like myself come back and kind of diminish their role and it’s a little bit unfair. Hats off to those guys for doing whatever the team asks from them, literally. If the team asks them to do more, they do more. If the team asks them to do less, they do less.

“To win a championship, no matter how good your best players are, you need to have those guys on your team. We know that, and we’re thankful for them, for sure.”

Prior to Wednesday night’s game, Williams went through an extended shootaround session in which he moved with ease and didn’t appear hampered whatsoever. He was loose, he joked with Gilgeous-Alexander, and he laced shot after shot.

If he can stay on the floor, he’ll provide a massive boost for the Thunder on both sides, especially late in games. Williams earned All-Defensive second-team honors last season and his shot creation in the NBA Finals helped the Thunder close the Pacers.

Yet, the final 18 games of the regular season will test this team more than any stretch since winning the title. According to Tankathon.com, the Thunder have the NBA’s third-toughest remaining schedule (.535), and Oklahoma City only has a 3½-game lead on the Spurs for the top seed in the West.

And if the Thunder are to retain the No. 1 seed, it will be because of games like these — games against great teams, on the road in iconic venues — games in which the Thunder are shorthanded, for them to pave the foundation to get there.

“I don’t have pixie dust,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s those guys. They’re the ones executing. They’ve got the competitive maturity at this point to understand how to win. That doesn’t mean we’ll win every game, but they understand the path you have to walk through.

“Their ability to click in the way they did tonight is a necessary skill. And it’s great for us to get experiences like this — and have success in those experiences. That’s how you build your muscle through the course of the regular season to make yourself as mentally tough as you can be.”

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — He is the only retired pitcher on the USA’s World Baseball Classic roster.

He’s also the only one with three Cy Young awards, three World Series championships, and 11 All-Star appearances.

And is the lone WBC pitcher who can already make reservations for his Hall of Fame induction in five years.

Clayton Kershaw, who could have stayed home in Dallas after retiring on top of the world with back-to-back World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, strolled to the mound Wednesday one last time in a spring-training game.

The moment the public address announcer at Salt River Fields called out his name as he walked to the mound, he received a thunderous standing ovation by the sellout crowd of 11,803.

“That was so cool, I had chills out there with the standing O they gave that man,’’ USA teammate and Yankees three-time MVP Aaron Judge said after the USA’s 14-4 victory against the Colorado Rockies. “The crowd went crazy for him out there pitching. Just to see him back out there and get a chance to share a clubhouse with a guy like that, and so respected around the game. He’s accomplished everything in his career.

“It was pretty special.’’

The results weren’t pretty. Kershaw gave up a home run on the third pitch he thew, walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, didn’t throw harder than 87.2 mph, and struggled with his control, throwing just six of his 13 pitches for strikes.

Yet, just wearing the red, white and blue, and considering his arm and body still felt perfectly fine in his first outing since Game 3 of the World Series, he was ecstatic.

“It was so cool,’’ Kershaw said. “I played against Colorado and Arizona a lot, so to hear that was special. … Just being on this team was a bucket list for me from the beginning, and so getting to do that, it was really cool.

“Obviously, I thought I was never going to throw a baseball again, so to get to do that with Team USA across your chest, and come back to that dugout, that team is really special.’’

Really, his USA teammates were more thrilled than Kershaw watching him in uniform for the final time before they open the World Baseball Classic on Friday against Brazil in Houston.

“It was awesome,’’ said Paul Goldschmidt, the seven-time All-Star and former MVP, who faced Kershaw 67 times in his career. “I’ve been looking forward to playing with this guy instead of against him my whole career.

“He’s had the most amazing career anyone could imagine. It’s just awesome that he’s coming back and doing this.’’

Said two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal: “That was so awesome seeing that. … That’s a big reason why I wanted to be part of this, to be with teammates like Clayton Kershaw.’’

Kershaw, who considers himself the emergency pitcher for Team USA, said that if his outing Wednesday was the last time he steps on the mound, “it was worth it.’’

Sorry, but USA manager Mark DeRosa isn’t going to let him sail off into the sunset of his magnificent career with his last outing being against the Rockies in a meaningless spring-training setting. Kershaw will definitely pitch sometime in the tournament when they play four pool games in five days in Houston, DeRosa says, even if it’s just in a mop-role to eat innings.

Kershaw, 37, deserves a send-off that is fitting for one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in baseball history, and pitching in a WBC game will be the perfect ending.

“I wouldn’t put on a uniform,’’ Kershaw said, “for anything else.’’

Kershaw, who spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, badly wanted to pitch in the 2023 WBC. Yet, the WBC insurance wouldn’t cover him with his array of injuries, forcing him to miss the tournament.

Now, with his family getting to see him pitch one last time in Houston, this could be the perfect farewell.

“I was pretty much mentally shut down,’’ Kershaw said. “(DeRosa) called and I thought about it for a minute, and I was like, ‘it’s not going to be fun to pick up a baseball again, but it’s worth it to be part of this group. …’

“It’s a great group. It’s been a lot of fun to get to know them.’’

And even as sensational as a Hollywood script it would be, Kershaw is already putting a stop to the idea he could be the one pitching the final out against former teammate Shohei Ohtani of Team Japan.

“I think for our country’s sake,’’ Kershaw said, “it’s probably better if I don’t.

“If they need me, I’ll be ready. It’s not going to be pretty, but I’ve got a lot of bullets. They just might not be quality bullets.’’

While Kershaw rules out any possibility of a future comeback after the WBC, he does have one more baseball stop before his career officially comes to an end.

He’ll be at Dodger Stadium on March 27.

He’s got a World Series ring to collect.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett was cited for speeding in Wayne County, Ohio on Feb. 21 for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71.

It marks the ninth speeding ticket for the 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Court records showed that the star pass-rusher was pulled over at 1:35 a.m. in Congress Township. He was driving a 2024 Green Porsche.

Garrett’s arraignment date is set for March 10 and was fined $157.50.

Speeding tickets aren’t a new thing for Garrett, who was previously cited for driving 100 mph in a 60 mph speed limit zone at around 2:01 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 9 in Strongsville, Ohio. That incident came following a Browns’ preseason contest against the Carolina Panthers.

Garrett previously flipped his Porsche while speeding and swerving to avoid an animal in 2022.

The star inked a four-year, $160 million contract extension in March 2025, which made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time.

Breanna Stewart has won at every level of women’s basketball. Now she can add Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league she helped start, to that list.

Stewart’s championship haul prior to Wednesday, March 4:

• Two high school state titles
• Four NCAA championships at UConn
• Three WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty
• Three Olympic gold medals with Team USA

Now, she is also an Unrivaled champion after helping Mist BC defeat Phantom BC, 80-74, Wednesday night at Sephora Arena in Miami. It was the second season of the league Stewart helped co-found with former UConn teammate Napheesa Collier.

‘I pride myself on being a winner and continuing to kind of uplift and build a space for all players,’ Stewart said, ‘and that’s what I’m really excited about.’

The end of the title game was somewhat anticlimactic. Stewart was first charged with an offensive foul, but when the call was overturned, she shot free throws to seal the Mist victory. Stewart finished with an Unrivaled career-high 32 points. She also grabbed four rebounds, had two steals and two blocks. Arike Ogunbowale added 19 points off the bench and Allisha Gray 12 points for the Mist.

All six Mist players will earn $100,000 for the victory, up from the $50,000 every Rose BC player earned for last season’s championship.

Kelsey Plum scored 40 points on 14-for-21 shooting in a losing effort for Phantom BC, which entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Kiki Iriafen added 13 and Tiffany Hayes 12.

The Mist led by six points going to the fourth quarter, which in Unrivaled rules is untimed. The league adds 11 points to the score of whichever team is leading at the end of the third quarter and that is the target score. In this case, first team to 79 points won.

Stewart sealed it for the Mist at the free throw line, adding another championship to her legacy.

• A judge denied Shilo Sanders’ request to dismiss a lawsuit from the trustee in Sanders’ bankruptcy case.
• The trustee alleges Sanders made unauthorized transfers and seeks to recover NIL earnings for creditors.
• Sanders filed for bankruptcy to discharge an $11.89 million debt stemming from an incident in 2015.

A federal bankruptcy judge has issued a ruling against former Colorado football player Shilo Sanders, denying a request by Sanders to dismiss a complaint against him from the trustee overseeing Sanders’ bankruptcy case.

The trustee had sued Sanders in October, two years after the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 in an effort to get out of more than $11 million in debt.

The trustee alleged Shilo Sanders had violated bankruptcy law by making unauthorized transfers of approximately $250,000. The suit sought to recover that money and more, which included Sanders’ college income from his name, image and likeness (NIL) through his businesses “Big 21” and “Headache Gang.”

In response, Sanders’ attorney said the trustee’s lawsuit was misguided and sought to have it dismissed. But Judge Michael Romero rejected Sanders’ arguments and is allowing the trustee’s lawsuit against Sanders to proceed toward a possible trial.

“The Court’s role in deciding the Motion to Dismiss is not to resolve factual disputes or weigh potential evidence outside the four corners of the Complaint,” Judge Michael Romero wrote in his ruling March 4. “The Trustee has otherwise sufficiently pled the necessary elements of his claims. He has also supported his claims with sufficient factual allegations regarding Sanders’ bank accounts, his NIL proceeds deposits into the Big 21 Account, and Sanders’ control over Big 21 and Headache Gang. Whether the evidence will ultimately substantiate the Trustee’s claims is a matter to be decided at trial.”

What is this case against Shilo Sanders about?

There are multiple parts to Sanders’ bankruptcy case, including this complaint from the trustee, David Wadsworth, who is tasked with rounding up Sanders’ non-exempt assets for the benefit of Sanders’ creditors.

This ruling is separate from another pivotal part of Sanders’ bankruptcy litigation that is set for trial Aug. 31 and does not involve the trustee.

The big issue in the trustee’s lawsuit against Sanders is to whom the money in question belongs — the bankruptcy estate or Sanders. Sanders’ earnings before he filed the bankruptcy petition generally belong to the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of creditors, while earnings that came from work after the filing belong to Sanders.

What did the judge’s ruling against Shilo Sanders mean?

Sanders’ attorney, Keri Riley, stated in court documents the money in question belonged to Sanders because they were “post-petition earnings.”

The trustee is disputing that and wants an accounting. The judge basically said this is a matter to be decided at a trial later, not in a motion to dismiss.

“Identifying the true nature of the funds will require presenting evidence and resolving numerous factual issues,” the judge ruled. “For example, whether the funds are Sanders’ pre- post-petition earnings will depend on the type of services Sanders performed, when he performed them, and the terms of the contract(s) (if any) requiring those services.”

Why did Shilo Sanders file for bankruptcy?

Shilo, 26, is the middle son of Deion Sanders. He didn’t go into debt because of unpaid loans or overspending on credit cards. He instead was hit with a civil court judgment in Dallas in 2022 that put him on the hook for $11.89 million, all owed to one man, John Darjean, a former security guard at his school in Dallas.

Darjean sued Sanders in 2016, alleging Sanders left him with permanent and severe injuries when he punched and elbowed him in head and neck area at school in 2015, when Shilo was 15. Sanders claimed it was self-defense but didn’t show up for the trial in 2022, which led to the default judgment against him.

Sanders filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2023 after Darjean moved to collect on that debt. Sanders’ goal is to get that debt discharged in bankruptcy court. But Darjean is fighting it and arguing the law doesn’t allow him to discharge it in this case because the debt stems from a “willful and malicious” injury.

That’s the issue in the trial set for Aug. 31. This separate trustee lawsuit has no trial date yet.

Shilo Sanders is currently out of football but has worked as an influencer and recently considered acting lessons after moving to Miami. He and his brother Shedeur Sanders also recently appeared as fashion models in Paris.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com